If
your ATM starts spitting out new bills that feature shades of peach and
blue, do not be alarmed. The U.S. Treasury has just released
a brand
new $20 bill into circulation.

The bill still features President Andrew
Jackson, minus the large oval. In fact, the new $20 bill offers several
improvements over the current $20 bill last updated in
1998. Most of these changes are designed to combat counterfeiters,
who have increasingly used digital technology to reproduce the bills.

To
ward off counterfeiting, the U.S. Treasury is adding some color to the
staid green bill. Jackson's portrait is set against a new background,
featuring light blue, green and peach hues. The front of the bill has
a faded bald eagle in the background, with the words "Twenty
USA/USA Twenty."

The
back of the bill also has new measures to thwart counterfeiters.
Small 20s appear in the yellow background, and are difficult
to reproduce with current digital technology.

With
digital scanning and printing improving every year, the Treasury has
a difficult task keeping ahead of increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters.
Current
plans at the U.S. Treasury call for all bills to be redesigned every
7-10 years to keep pace.

In
the official unveiling of the new $20 bill in May, Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan noted, "The soundness of a nation's
currency is essential to the soundness of its economy. And to uphold
our currency's soundness, it must be recognized and honored as legal
tender and counterfeiting must be effectively thwarted."

The
last update to the $20 bill took place in 1998, when the Treausry first
added an off-center portrait of Jackson
and the addition of an invisible plastic security thread that glows
green under ultraviolet light. The Treasury also began printing the
bills using a color-shifting ink that looks green when viewed straight
on,
but changed to black when viewed from the side.

Twenty
dollar bills are the most common bills in circulation today. Because
of this, the U.S. Treasury has launched a massive marketing campaign
to educate the public about the bills.

The
new twenties officially started circulation on October 9, 2003. The
new bills will gradually make their way into banks, supermarkets, and
ATMs, replacing the $20 bills
currently
in
circulation (which
will
wear out
in approximately
two
years). But don't
worry: those old twenties are still legal tender, as the United States
has never recalled its circulation.

The
Treasury Dept. has also announced that new $50 and $100 notes will
be introduced by 2005, each with its own unique color scheme. New $10
and $5 notes
may also see the light of day. However, the U.S. Treasury has no plans
to change the $1 and $2 notes, as they are the least popular notes
among counterfeiters.

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